


Azriel Throws a Wrench in the Works

by silverstone2828



Series: Postcards from Prythian [5]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-02 06:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19435807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverstone2828/pseuds/silverstone2828
Summary: The Starr family has to work through unexpected difficulty without destroying itself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for this universe and canon characters belongs to the inestimable Sarah J. Maas. I am responsible for original characters and this specific plot line.

Feyre was busy with some research into a company SLI was thinking of buying one Wednesday morning in early December when her cell phone rang; she glanced at it to see if she needed to answer or if she could ignore it and just let it go to voicemail. Upon seeing it was Rhys, she moved immediately to answer it. Her heart was in her throat because neither one of them ever called the other during work hours, limiting themselves to texting, so her first thought was that something was very wrong in Velaris. She tried to hide her apprehension as she connected with Rhys.

“Hey, lover, what's going on?,” she asked, trying and failing to achieve a breezy tone.

“I really need to just be with you for a while,” Rhys answered in a serious voice. “Is there any way that it would be okay if I fly in today? It wouldn't need to be for long; I know this is your company's busiest time of year, so you're busy. I was thinking that I could fly back out tonight.”

“You are welcome anytime for any length of time; you know that, Rhys. No questions asked. When would your flight arrive?,” Feyre asked.

“I'm at the security checkpoint right now; boarding begins in a half and hour or so and takeoff is said to be on time, so I'd land at one o'clock,” Rhys answered.

“I'll meet you at the airport, then. I can leave here for the day at noon, and that will allow me time to get there on time. Do you want to talk to me while you're waiting to board? I can tell you are terribly upset, and I'll talk about whatever it is that's caused you this trouble or just listen while you talk, whatever you need,” Feyre offered.

“Just hearing your voice has gone a long way toward settling me down, Fey. It's a business thing; everyone here is in good health, so don't worry about that. I don't want to say much more about it until I've seen you, okay? I need to be with you to calm the rest of the way down first.”

“Sure, I get it,” Feyre answered even though she didn't have a clue about what was going on, but it seemed to put Rhys more at ease. “Remember that you still have clothes and toiletries here, so after you arrive and we get to my place, I'll let you settle in while I pick us up some lunch. Can you be thinking of what you would like and we'll talk about it when you arrive?”

“I can answer that right now,” Rhys said.

“Uh-uh,” Feyre answered. “That doesn't involve nutritional value, however pleasurable it is,” she laughed. “Think about real, actual food.”

“Okay, be that way,” Rhys grumbled. “I'll think about your idea after I imagine my idea. That's my best and final offer. I'm smirking, just so you know.”

Feyre laughed and said, “Oh, Prick, I've missed you. It'll be good to see you for whatever time we have.”

“I've missed you, too, love,” Rhys commented. “I'm ready to actually do the security checks, so I will let you go for now. I'll see you in a couple of hours, okay?”

“Yes; I can't wait,” Feyre responded. “I love you, Rhys; have a good trip.”

“Love you, too, Fey. I will,” Rhys answered and ended the call.

Feyre looked at her phone for a moment after the call ended wondering what in the Cauldron could have caused Rhys to be so upset. _He said it had to do with business, and I know he's been working hard trying to set up and staff the new software division. I wonder if it has to do with that? The last I heard, the company got the software deal they were working on with Kallias Insurance and the roll out was supposed to start right after the holidays. I hope nothing went wrong with that,_ she thought. _Enough. This is doing no good. I'll find out this afternoon, I expect._

She shook her head and went to the doorway to Alis' office to see if she could take the afternoon off. She had no meetings scheduled and was ahead of schedule on her research projects, so it shouldn't be a problem. Alis readily agreed that Feyre could leave at noon as she planned, but suggested that, since she was ahead of schedule in her research, she was actually free to leave right then so she could get groceries or prepare the townhouse for company, whatever she wanted to do. Feyre thought about it for a minute and agreed with Alis that, given the mystery of Rhys' very short trip and the fact that he was so unhappy, it would be best if they didn't have to eat in restaurants this trip, so a grocery shopping trip was in order. She thanked Alis and went to back up her research and to check in with Landri and Josef to be sure that they were also on track with their work and had no questions. They were doing fine, so Feyre was free to leave by ten-thirty.

She stopped at the grocery store to pick up the usual foods they like to eat and drink on visits, getting enough for a couple of days, since she had no real idea if Rhys actually meant to go back to Velaris that same night or not. Dinners would be a problem, since Feyre didn't cook, but they could have a delivery from one of the restaurants they liked in Adriata or, if Rhys was feeling better, just go out.

Once she returned home and put the groceries away, she quickly straightened up the townhouse and made sure that Rhys' stash of clothing and toiletries was in good shape for him. Before long, it was nearly time to go out to the airport and collect Rhys; then perhaps the mystery regarding his unhappiness would begin to clear up. As she was fixing her hair in preparation for leaving, though, her phone rang. She grabbed it out of her purse and saw that it was Amren, which shocked her as badly as Rhys' call had. Amren had never called before. She picked up right away, but trepidation was much too mild a description for her emotional state just then. Abject terror was a much more accurate term.

“Hey, Amren. How are you?,” Feyre said cautiously.

“I'm good, thanks. And you?,” Amren responded.

“I'm okay,” Feyre answered, though that was shading the truth. “What can I do for you?”

“This is a little off the wall, I know, and the only way I know how to handle it is to be direct, and I hope you will be direct with me as well. Is Rhys with you?”

Feyre's heart lurched. She had no idea what Rhys wanted his family to know about his plans, but she wouldn't lie to any of them. She might leave out details, but she wouldn't outright lie.

“Um, no, he isn't,” Feyre hedged.

“I'm getting from that that you might expect him. Is that right?”

“Amren, I'm in an impossible position here. You wanted direct, so I will give you that. I don't know what happened up there and I don't know what Rhys wants people to know about where he's gone. I only know that he's okay right now, but he's horribly upset and maybe some time for him to to decompress is in order. That's all I can tell you, I'm afraid.”

“Okay, I'll accept that, and thank you for your honesty. I know I backed you into a corner and I'm sorry for that, but no one here knows where he went or how long he'll be gone. I'll leave it to him to give you the details but he and Azriel had a rather bad argument earlier this morning, and the next thing I knew, he texted me that he was taking a short trip out of town, so I needed to keep watch over the company. I don't know whether 'short' refers to the distance or duration of his trip or refers to both. In short, I'm in the dark here, and I really don't like that circumstance. I understand your predicament, though, and I won't press you for more information. If you hear from him, could you please pass on a message?”

“Yes, if I can find a way to do it without upsetting him further,” Feyre said.

“Please tell him that we have his calendar covered for the rest of the week, between rearranging things and Mor and I taking care of what can't be rearranged. And please tell him that Azriel feels awful about what was said and wants to talk to him when he can. That part will be the tricky thing to work into a casual conversation, so I understand that you'll have to be careful about where and when you tell him.”

“I will let him know the first part, certainly. The second will have to wait until he tells me about the situation, if he does. We don't want him to think we're going behind his back if he hoped to keep this matter between Azriel and himself,” Feyre commented.

“Agreed,” Amren replied. “If he's coming your way, you have my thanks for anything you can do to put him back together. I haven't seen him like this since his family passed away. I want you to know that I have never seen him so happy as he has been since the two of you have been involved. You've been very good for him, and I'm grateful for that.”

“Thank you, Amren. I appreciate your telling me this, and please know that he's been every bit as good for me as you think I've been for him. I'll do what I can as I can, all right?”

“I can't ask for more,” Amren replied. “Be well, Feyre.”

They ended the call and Feyre finished her hair and hurried out the door to go out to the airport. Fortunately, traffic was light and she arrived and parked with a few minutes to spare before Rhys' flight was due to land.

She was waiting outside of the door Rhys had to use to get to the airport exit when he emerged. He saw her immediately and they hurried to each other. Feyre wrapped her arms around him and just held him tightly. Rhys, in turn, set down his computer bag, wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face in her hair, just breathing in her scent, the scent that calmed and centered, yet elated, him every time he smelled it. _Gods of the Cauldron, I needed her scent so badly,_ he thought. _I just needed to be_ _ **near**_ _her so badly._ They were out of other people's way, so they were able to remain this way for however long they wanted, just breathing each other in without saying a word.

After several minutes, they eased apart and Rhys picked up his bag. Feyre eyed him carefully and asked him if he would be okay until they reached her townhouse, or if he wanted her to arrange for a room at a nearby airport hotel in case he wanted to talk to her immediately about what had caused him so much trouble.

“Let's just go home, Feyre. The trip will allow me to try to arrange my thoughts so that I can maybe explain rationally what happened.”

“All right,” Feyre answered. “Then let's go. We'll have lunch when we get there—I stopped at the store after I left work and picked up some deli stuff for lunch for us. And a light wine,” she winked at him.

“Oh, no, my mood today would need aged whiskey, not a genteel wine, but you made a noble attempt, and I thank you for it.” he responded with a very small smirk, confirming to Feyre just how bad his frame of mind was. _When he can't even smirk, I know we're in trouble,_ she thought.

“There's a liquor store on the way home,” Feyre said. “Think about what you want and what mixers you want, if any. We'll stop and get it. It will just add a few minutes to the trip.”

By this time they were at the car, so Rhys put his bag in the small trunk and they were soon on their way. Feyre surreptitiously watched him as best as she could; he was very quiet and she honored that, trying to make it a comfortable silence so that he could begin to relax. They reached the liquor store and she asked him what he would like her to buy him in the way of whiskey and mixers.

“I'll go in with you, okay? It feels good to walk,” Rhys said. “I'll get the whiskey, though. That's only fair.”

“I won't argue with you over it today, but it's really no problem if I get it,” Feyre said.

“I know,” said Rhys. “Another time you can get it or buy me a new set of lingerie or something,” he said, trying and failing to wiggle his eyebrows.

Feyre smiled at him and took his arm as they walked into the store, made their purchase, and continued to her home.

When they arrived, it was fairly obvious that Rhys was worn out and Feyre thought he was likely very hungry as well. She knew from experience that the flights they took between Adriata and Velaris were perilously short on the food front, so it had been a long time since he ate anything resembling real food, on top of his obviously horrible day. She offered him a shower before they ate and he was quick to agree to the plan, so they put his computer bag on the table for now and went upstairs where Feyre had laid out his clothing in the bedroom and his toiletries on the counter of the bath. She asked if he needed anything else at the moment, and he responded by taking her in his arms and kissing her deeply, gently stroking her back. She responded to his touch immediately but she gently let him know that the order of business would be a shower by himself and eating lunch. After that, the schedule was open.

“You're firm on that?,” he asked.

“I am,” Feyre responded with an arched brow.

“Oh, the dreaded arched brow; I know I'm not changing your position when I see the arched brow,” Rhys feebly joked. “Okay, I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes—and Feyre? Thanks for being here and for letting me visit. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Rhys. I'll just be downstairs if you need anything. Bring whatever clothes that need washing with you when you come down, all right? I'll be in the kitchen or sitting room.”

While Rhys showered and changed clothes, Feyre put together lunch plates containing a few salads, some cold cuts, cheeses, and Italian bread. She waited to see what Rhys wanted to drink before taking care of that, but she was able to get the plates made up and set them and the needed silverware, napkins, and spices on the table before Rhys came back down. He came up behind her and put his arms around her, once again taking in her unique scent.

“I so love your scent. Thank you for the shower, love. I needed it more than I knew. I put the clothes in the laundry room; I can wash them after lunch.”

“You always smell so good to me, too” Feyre commented. “I can say it now, but when I smell your scent, it warms me, not only in a sexual way, but it also makes me feel calm and happy. It's hard to explain in words.”

“I know it is,” Rhys answered. “I find that your scent calms and comforts me as well as excites me and makes me happy, all at the same time. It's like I've come home when you are near.”

“Exactly!,” exclaimed Feyre. “We are definitely **strange** , but I like us just the way we are.”

She gestured to the table for Rhys to sit and asked him what he wanted to drink with lunch. He wanted ice water, as did Feyre, so it was a small matter to get them large glasses of it and sit down to lunch.

They talked of inconsequential things during lunch, both of them finishing their plates and then enjoying pastries Feyre had thought to buy from the store's in-store bakery that morning. After they had pronounced themselves to be full, they rose from the table, Feyre to rinse the plates and silverware and load them into the dishwasher, and Rhys to start the laundry. They met at the davenport in the sitting room, sitting as close as possible to each other, with Feyre holding Rhys' hand; she was drawing comforting patterns with her thumb on his hand this time. Their refilled water glasses were on the coffee table and Feyre had chosen a soft jazz music stream on her audio system to provide some background noise.

“Are you ready to talk to me now?,” Feyre asked cautiously. “I can get you some whiskey, if you like.”

“Maybe two fingers of whiskey on the rocks,” Rhys requested. “I'm sorry, Feyre, but this is pretty bad. It's going to be hard to get through.”

“All right; I'll be right back,” Feyre said as she rose and went to the kitchen. She brought him his drink, sat, and resumed holding his hand and drawing patterns.

“Do you want to lay on the davenport so I can hold you? Would that help?,” Feyre asked quietly.

“I'll try it upright for now,” Rhys answered. “I apologize because it might be a bit disjointed and confusing but ask questions if I'm not clear, okay?”

Feyre nodded and merely told him that she was here for him.

“Do you remember when I told you that I was planning to give software development its own division with its own management tree and that I wanted Azriel to decide if he wanted to lead that division or continue leading the IT division? That was in September, right?,” Rhys began. Feyre nodded.

“I had hoped he would have a decision made by December first, which he was aware of, so that we could start moving on the personnel structure of the new division just after the first of the year. A week or so ago, I asked him where he was on making the decision. He hemmed and hawed about it and I told him then that I had to have an answer in a week. He seemed to accept it, but he obviously wasn't happy. At the time, I couldn't tell if he wasn't happy about the decision itself or because he didn't want the structure of his IT department to change—as I told you, he loves both development and handling IT issues for the company. Running the support service, while a very necessary part of a software development firm, is less exciting to him, but he handles it well also.

“Anyway, the deal is, as you know, the upper management team, who is also my family, agreed that we as a company would be best served by splitting software development away from IT. We decided in October with, as I said, a target date of January second for the start date on the split. So fine. Azriel hadn't given me a hint that he was dissatisfied with the decision, or I was too blind to see any hints that he offered, something, but he kept putting off making his own decision until I put my foot down this morning.

“I had him report for a formal meeting in my office at nine o'clock, and both of us were there on time. Roger, my admin, was at his desk right outside, and the door was closed. It started out reasonably enough, but it became clear to me today that, in reality, Azriel didn't want either the structure or his own place in the structure to change. That wasn't going to be possible; under our restructuring plan, development is going to have its own management tree and it will be split off from IT. This isn't odd, by the way. Most of the larger development companies are structured this way. Eventually, we're looking to add a third division by splitting software support away from IT, once the size of our support output justifies it.

“So, to continue, our discussion was proceeding, but not really getting anywhere. I was hoping to get Azriel's decision on which division he wanted to lead: software development or IT, not try to re-justify the decision to restructure, but that's what the meeting was becoming. He couldn't let that go.

“Around nine-thirty, I called a halt to the discussion about the restructuring itself, and told Azriel that I needed a decision from him on which division he wanted to lead by the end of the day, or I would have to assign him to one by January second, based solely on the company's needs—fairly cold of me, I will admit. Unfortunately, I was running out of patience with him. So that was one wrong move I can see that I made right now.

“That set Azriel off, and I reacted very badly to it, I'm afraid. We went back and forth for a few minutes and then he told me that he really wanted to work in a smaller operation where he could do all that he loved to do, and if he couldn't do that at Starr Technologies, he'd look elsewhere. This was not my finest moment, Fey, and I'm already ashamed of myself. I truthfully saw red in that moment. He'd been part of the company for all of its thirteen years and I couldn't believe he was talking about leaving it and I was equating it to his leaving his family, it seemed to me. I told him exactly that, and he told me that I was being, in colorful terms, an asshole CEO, as well as a tyrannical head of the family. I ended the discussion there, he left, and I didn't see him before I left Velaris today,” Rhys sighed loudly.

“I was also wrong to cut and run today, but all I could think of at the time was that I had to get to you. I had to see you, even if it's just for this afternoon, so I called you.”

“Oh, my love, you know you are always welcome here. Always,” Feyre said as she kissed his cheek, handed him his whiskey, and watched him take a sip.

“All right,” said Feyre, “That seems fairly straightforward, if distressing. I don't see that it's an absolute disaster in the long term, though. At least it doesn't have to be. How do you want me to help?,” she asked.

“Tell me I'm not a total fuckup, even if I was this morning, for starters,” Rhys replied. “Really, though, I've told you everything exactly as I remember it, so I'd like your analysis and any suggestions for how to mend my relationship with Azriel.”

Feyre thought for a minute, then took one of Rhys' hands in her own again. “So, first of all, I'm seeing this from the outside, and I haven't talked to Azriel to know how he feels about the restructuring. I can, then, only go by what he said this morning. I know your thoughts and feelings about the restructuring plus what you said this morning.

“If we keep that in mind, it will help. I don't think you are wrong to restructure your company. A large portion of its reason for being is software development. Everything else that you do stems from that. Acting in such a way as to maximize the possibility of development's success only makes good business sense for Starr Technologies as a whole.

“The problem for you arises with Azriel not being comfortable with the restructuring and not being willing to choose one of the divisions to lead. The problem for Azriel arose when restructuring came up in the fall. I want you to try and see his position, love. Some people are happier in smaller companies, and they're happier for a lot of different reasons. In Azriel's case, we know that he wants to both develop software and help with the device maintenance that surrounds the development. We know that he can and will manage the help desk work. There should be a place for him in another company in the Night Region, if not right in Velaris. He may not be able to stay at one company for his whole career under his current preferences, because successful companies usually evolve to your proposed model eventually, but he should be able to have a career.

“Was he wrong in the way he handled your meeting? Yes, but like you, he was under stress. I would like you to make allowance for that, just as I would advise him to make allowance for you being under stress.

“All right. So what did you do right? For the most part, almost everything, so far as I can tell. Azriel should have opened up about his discomfort with the restructuring, and he should have warned you that the new job, leading either division, was untenable for him. That was his biggest mistake, but it's a common one. It's hard to take a stand with your workmates and CEO. I can't imagine how hard it is to take that stand when all these people are your family, too.

“The major error you made was in equating Azriel perhaps leaving the company with Azriel perhaps leaving the family as an automatic if-then situation. A threat to leave the company as a threat to also leave the family, if you will. That was an emotional behavior when the meeting demanded calm, rational behavior. I doubt Azriel has any intention of leaving the family, no matter what, and if he thinks that you perceived his intention to possibly seek a job change as meaning he wanted to leave the family as well, he must be hurting over it.

“I know that you can see this error at this point, Rhys, and given your whole family's history over the years, I can understand why your first reaction would be to think what you did. But, looking in from the outside, I see only the possibility that Azriel may leave Starr. I perceive no threat to the family from what you told me. But this isn't a fatal error, Rhys; at least it doesn't have to be, on either side.

“So, you and your family have worked together for about thirteen years, right? And you've been part of the same family for that long or longer in most cases? I can see where the two units would overlap in some ways. That's a good long while for both units to coexist, and it would be a shock to the system if someone wanted to leave either one of them.

“Let's accept as a given the most likely thing that Azriel would do: leave Starr for another job but stay in the family. Do you and your upper management have a non-compete clause in your contracts? If Amren drew up the contracts, I would think that you would—they're common in the tech industry.” Feyre looked at Rhys, waiting for an answer.

“I'd actually have to see the contract to verify whether or not it does,” Rhys confessed. “I just signed it, trusting that Amren wouldn't screw me over. That probably sounds like a pretty stupid thing to do.”

“I, uh, um, yes, I'm afraid so,” Feyre said gently. “You're undoubtedly right that Amren wouldn't screw you over, but where this is **your** company and it was entirely **your** money that funded it, it's best to read the full contract and understand all the clauses before signing. Just for future reference. Do you know what a non-compete clause is?”

At Rhys' blank look, she went on to explain that basically, it limits where an employee can work for a specified period of time following the end of his or her employment at the company for whom a contract containing such a clause was signed. In other words, Azriel could leave Starr and look for another job, but he could not go to work for a company whose products directly competed with those of Starr Technologies for a specified length of time.

“If your contracts have that language, and, as I said, it's common enough, Azriel would be limited in his job search efforts, but there are development companies such as gaming studios and other specific types of development that don't directly compete with your company and what it creates. He should have little trouble finding a position, even if your contracts have such a clause.

“So, there's that to find out, and I think you should go to Amren and ask her, plus read your own contract and see what's in it, just for your knowledge, but it may come up if Azriel leaves Starr. Next we come to a more emotional issue. Can you accept Azriel perhaps working elsewhere and still being your brother?”

“I truthfully hadn't thought about it before today,” Rhys said slowly. “You are very correct, as it turns out, that I'm viewing my family as not only family, but that the family is identical to my upper management team—it's been that way for thirteen years and this is the first time I've had to try to separate the two in my head.

“The obvious answer is yes, of course, but I can see that, should he leave, the remaining team members can no longer discuss sensitive business issues outside of the office. That's only the first complication that occurs to me, but I imagine others will arise.”

“Let's establish a basis for your separation of the units then,” Feyre suggested. “Do you love Azriel, your brother?”

“That's an unqualified yes. I've loved him for many years longer than the company has existed.”

“Wonderful, then. Try to imagine how your family would function if you had **all** chosen jobs with different companies when you finished school, not all working at one company as you are. You'd still have your family dinners, of course, and you'd text and call each other, maybe go to that club of Mor's sometimes. You'd still celebrate birthdays and holidays. All of that is just like now. If Azriel leaves, you maybe wouldn't physically see him as often as now, and you wouldn't discuss business in front of him outside of generalities, but those are the only major things that change that I can see. It's easier said than done to separate them in your head and heart, I know, but it can be done. I'd much rather lose an employee than to lose an employee and a family member, Rhys.

“So, it looks like you will need a leader for the new development division as well as the IT division. That's okay; you may have qualified people in your company right now who can step into those roles, or hire from outside. As to Azriel, would he be willing to leave his management role and assume a joint role in the development and IT divisions that would allow him to do both jobs? I realize that it would be more of a hands-on and less of a management role. He'd likely need to be a developer and a tech with minimal supervisory responsibilities if he wants a dual role, but you can figure out how you want to set it up if both of you wanted to try it. It would be a way for him to stay at Starr, though you would likely not talk business on a corporate level in front of him as you do now. Would you be willing to create such a role for him? It would require the leader of each of the divisions to cooperate with his scheduling and it would likely pay him less money. For his sake and for the sake of the divisions in which he'd be working, he couldn't stay in upper management at all, and probably not in management at all, but that's up to you and your people to decide, and, if you were to offer it, up to him to decide if he'd want to step down under your terms.”

Feyre picked up her water glass and took a deep drink, then turned to Rhys and looked at him carefully. “What do you think? Does any of that make sense?”

“All too much of it, unfortunately,” Rhys said, taking another sip of his whiskey. Somehow, most of it had disappeared while Feyre was talking and she asked if he'd like a refill. He shook his head and thanked her for offering.

“You've given me an awful lot to think about, and I'm grateful beyond words, Feyre. I would hate to lose Azriel as a team member at Starr, but I can't lose him as a brother, too. I will need to talk to him and apologize for making him feel that his family loyalty was being questioned when he was only trying to tell me that he might need a different job. He's my brother and I only want to see him happy.

“But, as Rhys, the CEO, I need to get the lead positions of the two divisions figured out now so that we as a company can set up the development division. You present an intriguing option for Azriel, and I will think it over carefully to see if it should actually be offered to him, maybe discuss it with Mor—she has a good sense of the practicalities of the business, but it's an interesting idea. Why does he need to leave management?,” he asked curiously.

“That would have to do with the morale of your people in those divisions as well as other staff members watching to see how this plays out. See, if he takes a dev role and a tech role, none of the people with whom he would be working would have upper management status. It sets him apart when what he needs to do is establish himself as just another member of whatever teams he's assigned to. If he keeps management status, particularly upper management status, and tries to establish himself with his teams, he goes in with a whole lot more status than any of them have now and more than most of them will ever have. Particularly software development is often done in teams with recognized ladders of responsibility. He wouldn't fit that description at all if he kept management status, I think, and that might make it unpleasant for him as well as his teammates. And then you end up with a morale problem. But that's just my thought. If you have a human resources department, run it by them and see what they think. But remember, love, it is your company and your decision to make.”

“I feel so much better after talking to you, Fey; thank you.” He leaned over and kissed Feyre tenderly.

“I know it was a dumb thing to do, jumping on a plane only to return tonight, but something in me had to do it,” he continued. I just feel like you're home to me, and I had to go home. That makes no sense, but it is what it is.”

“I know very well what you mean, Rhys; you're home to me also. I would go so far as saying that I feel complete when I'm with you; I have since June,” Feyre responded. “This had to be excruciating for you and if I was able to help you understand what happened and maybe start to solve it, then I'm happy and am pleased to do it. As I said, though, you didn't make a fatal error and I think the situation is solvable.

“I need to tell you that Amren called me shortly before I left for the airport. She wanted to know if you were coming here but I told her that she was putting me into an impossible situation and that I wouldn't confirm or deny any assumption she made. I did agree to pass on a message if I talked to you, so here it is: she wants you to know that she and Mor worked with Roger to clear your calendar through the weekend. She said they rearranged some things and that she and Mor would handle the rest that couldn't be rearranged on the schedule.

“She also asked me to tell you that Azriel feels very badly about the meeting and wants to talk to you when he can. Are you serious about going home tonight or can you stay at least overnight and get a good rest—even if I have to sleep in the guest room to make sure that happens?,” Feyre asked with a smile.

“You had me reeled in right up to the part where you're sleeping in the guest room. You lost me there, I'm afraid,” Rhys smirked, a real one this time.

Feyre rolled her eyes and flipped him off. “Be semi-serious while I work out the logistics, please. It's my calling in life, Prick.”

Rhys raised his hands, laughing. “I'm sorry, Feyre Darling; I couldn't help it. Let me think for a little while. I would love to stay through the weekend, just to be able to be with you, though I won't ask you to take time away from your job during your busy season. At least I could see you in the evenings and this weekend, and I'll be back here for Solstice. I also want to see Azriel, though, and I think it has to be face to face. Otherwise, I would just call him or video chat. Is it okay if I stay overnight and fly out tomorrow evening? Again, I want you to work your regular schedule, so I'd grab the seven-thirty flight, if that works.” He looked at her expectantly.

“Of course, Rhys. Where I want the time off off between Solstice and New Year's, it would be best if I did work regular hours now where it's so close, but if that's all right with you, then it works for me.”

“Okay, then I'd better text Amren and Mor and let them know that I'll be back in the office Friday morning, and ask them to schedule time for Azriel and me to meet then. That's all they need to know for now, I think.”

“If you really do feel better, you should let them know that, too, Rhys. I'm sure they're both worried about you yourself more than whether or not you're in the office,” Feyre commented. “If you don't feel much better, then tell them that.”

After Rhys had sent his texts, he looked at Feyre and said, “Shall I demonstrate how much better I feel,” he asked, pulling her close and kissing her deeply. She understood and agreed immediately that he was indeed better. They went upstairs to her room shortly thereafter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for this universe and canon characters belongs to the inestimable Sarah J. Maas. I am responsible for original characters and this specific plot line.

Meanwhile, back in Velaris that same Wednesday morning...

Amren Rhodes, chief operating officer and chief legal officer of Starr Technologies, leaned back in her office chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she stared at her phone's messaging app. The message she'd received from Rhys was almost criminally brief: 'I'm taking a short trip out of town, so you're in charge. I'll get back to you when I can.'

_What am I supposed to get from that?,_ she thought. _Trip to where? How long will he be gone? What caused him to leave?_

She shook her head and called Mor Starr, VP of marketing, asking her to come to Amren's office if she could. Mor responded that she would be right there, and they ended the call.

Amren finished going over the contract she was reviewing for a large software roll out they would be launching for Kallias Insurance while waiting for Mor to arrive and was just closing the file when Mor knocked on the door frame and said “Hey, Amren; what can I do for you?”

“Come in, please, and sit down. Close the door, if you would,” Amren answered, as she pressed the remote button that notified her secretary that Amren didn't want to be disturbed until further notice.

Mor gracefully sat in the plush chair in front of Amren's desk and looked at her expectantly.

“Have you spoken to Rhys in the past hour or so?,” Amren asked, coming right to the point.

“No, I haven't, I'm afraid. I had a full calendar, so I haven't had a chance. Why do you ask?,” Mor answered.

Amren passed her phone to Mor and requested that she read the latest message from Rhys. “Can you make sense of this?”

Mor took the phone and sucked in a breath as she read the brief message. “I don't have the vaguest idea what he's doing. Have you talked with Roger? Who all did he meet with or talk to this morning? Did Roger know anything?”

“The text arrived just a few minutes ago and I wanted to talk to you first,” Amren responded. “With you here, now I'll ask Roger what he knows. We need to work with Rhys' calendar right away, but I don't know how long he'll be gone to know how far out we need to clear it.” She took her phone back and used it to call Roger, putting it on speakerphone so that Mor could hear. Amren first asked what information Roger had to offer about Rhys' trip, and was told that Rhys had told Roger much the same thing as he'd told Amren and he had no additional details to offer. She then asked for a list of calls and meetings Rhys had had this morning, so Roger offered that and Amren wrote it all down.

“So he'd actually scheduled a meeting with Azriel at nine o'clock? A formal meeting?,” Amren asked. “Do you know what it involved? Did the meeting happen?”

Roger responded that the meeting was formally scheduled, but that he had no knowledge of what they were to cover. He added that the meeting lasted about a half hour and while he'd heard raised voices through the door toward the end of the meeting, he wouldn't commit to anything he understood from the voices. He told Amren that Azriel betrayed no emotion when he left the office, but that he was in a hurry and didn't speak to Roger on the way past Roger's desk which was unusual. Roger told her that normally Azriel would at least tell him good bye.

Amren thought for a minute. “How long was it between the time Azriel left and the time Rhys told you he was leaving on this trip?”

“Maybe about ten minutes,” Roger responded. “He didn't receive any calls on the business line during that time, but the door was closed so I can't speak to whether or not he used his cell phone. He had no other visitors. After he told me he would be gone, he packed up his gear as though he was leaving for the day and left.”

“Could you describe his frame of mind when you last saw him?,” Amren asked. “I know that I'm asking for a subjective opinion from you, and I don't want you to tell me anything you aren't fairly certain of, but I'm trying to figure out how long we should plan on him being gone, so anything you can tell me would help.”

“He seemed upset, but he was holding himself under control,” Roger responded quickly. “He didn't volunteer any information and I didn't ask for any. I asked if I could do anything for him; he said no, and thanked me for asking. Then he told me he would be back shortly and left with his gear.”

“I see, thank you,” said Amren. “I'm going to talk to some people and I'll get back to you. Unless Rhys has an immediate call or meeting, then look at his calendar and start thinking about what can be pushed out to the future for the next few days. Only if he has something immediate should you try to reschedule anything right now. Keep track of any changes you have to make and Mor or I will be in touch shortly to help you work out the calendar issues, okay?”

They ended the call and Amren and Mor just looked at each other. “This has to relate to the software development split from IT,” Mor said. “Azriel hasn't given Rhys his choice as to what division he'd want to lead, and I know Rhys wanted an answer by the first of December so he could get the staffing accomplished in order to launch the split in early January. He may have run out of patience, because he couldn't proceed without knowing what Azriel wanted to do.”

“Then speaking with Azriel is our next step,” said Amren, reaching for her phone. “I don't think you should be here for this, because I may have to wear my boss face. I will tell you what I find out, but if you're not present, it gives him someone in the family to talk to if her needs to. I know he can and does talk with Cassian, but for an issue like this apparently is, he might rather talk to you. When I've finished talking with him, I'll give you a call and we can decide how far out we need to re-plan Rhys' calendar. And if we should try tracking Rhys down. He could have gone to a lot of places, but I doubt he's gone to the cabin due to the snowy roads. He may have done so, of course, but I have a feeling he went to a much warmer climate.” She looked at Mor meaningfully.

“All right,” Mor responded. “That makes sense. I'll likely be in the office, but use either the office line or call the cell phone. I'll help however I can.” She rose and left Amren to contact Azriel.

Amren decided to call Azriel's cell phone, thinking that he may have left for the day after the meeting with Rhys. He answered right away, sounding more quiet than usual. Amren asked if he had a minute to talk to her about his meeting with Rhys that morning.

“Oh, you heard about that?,” asked Azriel cautiously.

“I heard that there was a meeting, but that's all anyone was willing to say,” answered Amren. I'm hoping that you can come to my office and we can talk about it.”

“I'm home right now,” Azriel responded. “Can we do it over the phone?”

“It isn't ideal,” Amren was quick to respond. “We'll try it that way and I'll let you know if you need to come back in today. Is that acceptable?”

“I guess so,” replied Azriel. “What do you want to know?”

“Roger said it was a formal meeting. Could you tell me what it was about?”

“Rhys wanted to know if I'd made a decision on whether I would want to lead the software development division or stay with leading IT. He had wanted a decision by the first of the month which I hadn't been able to give him, and so he wanted a meeting today to get a decision. I know that he needed to know for the good of the company, and I wish I'd been able to give him one, but I just can't decide, Amren. Neither role is the right one for me.”

“All right, we can come back to that point later if you would like,” Amren said, writing it down to remind herself later. “I'm willing to listen if you want to talk that out and we can perhaps make headway on it. For right now, can you tell me what happened at this meeting in as much detail as you can remember?”

Azriel went on to recount the events of the meeting, telling her that it rapidly became a rehashing of the decision to split development away from IT more than a discussion of Azriel's choice of division to lead, and that it took that direction because Azriel caused it to. He became increasingly upset as he recounted the conversation. As he neared the end of his recital, he became very detailed, and Amren paid very close attention to his words and his tone so she could ascertain his emotional state at the moment. She thought he was just barely holding himself together from what she was able to tell from the phone conversation and she regretted not insisting that he come to the office where she could observe him as well as hear what he had to say.

“So, about twenty five minutes into the meeting, Rhys stopped discussing the decision to make the split and told me that he needed my decision by the end of today or he would be forced to make the decision himself based on what would be best for the company and what it needed," Azriel continued. "I didn't take that well. Without thinking, I told him that I was happier in a job where I could both work with software development and work with device repairs and issues. I understand why this split needs to happen intellectually, believe me, but it's my job, among all of the upper management team, that's affected the most by it.

“As I said, Amren, I wasn't thinking well by this point, and I told him that if I had to leave Starr to find a job like that, I would. I regretted it the instant those words were out of my mouth, believe me. I knew how they would hurt him and I said them anyway.” Azriel groaned. “It gets worse, unfortunately. I told him he was acting like an asshole CEO and a tyrannical head of the family. Gods only know what he'll make of that; he'll probably think I want to walk away from the only real family I've ever known in addition to possibly walking away from the company. I just wish I'd have kept still before I told him that. I was angry about the decision to change the company structure, even though I know it has to happen, and when he gave me a deadline of today to make a decision I can't make, I just lost it, I'm afraid.”

“How did Rhys respond to your words?”

“You know him; he'd either be ice cold or lose his chill entirely and haul me off to the training ring; I almost wish he'd done the latter. I feel very badly about what I said to him, Amren. He didn't deserve it and the situation wasn't helped by it. He went ice cold this time and ended the meeting, telling me he'd be in touch later. I went home for the day after I rearranged my calendar and I've been here since.”

“I see,” said Amren, not giving anything of her thoughts away. “Do you want me to come over and talk to you about anything? I can, you know, or perhaps Cassian or Mor can come over? I'd like for you not to be alone right now.”

“Cassian's coming over right after work, and I'll be okay until then. I'm going to go to the gym for a while, then get lunch. I'm no closer to a decision than I was when I got up this morning, but my mindset isn't where it needs to be to think about it. I'll talk to Cassian about it. In a strange sort of way, not deciding between divisions is a decision of sorts: it says that I need to start job hunting.”

“Azriel, as your friend and as your sister in this odd family in which we find ourselves, please take this advice, if you never take any more from me: Don't do anything rash—you're not in a fit state to make sudden moves of any kind, and you have time to weigh your options, other than this decision that Rhys wants. Do what you can with that, and if you can't decide, then, as you say, that's a decision in and of itself. However, you needn't act on it immediately, other than to let Rhys know, whatever result you come to. After that, let everyone involved calm down and we can all sit down and talk it over. Maybe at Rita's some night,” Amren made a very feeble attempt at a joke since both of knew very well that you couldn't hear yourself think at Mor's favorite club, let alone talk about serious matters and that Amren would rather not be at Rita's ever.

“I understand, Amren, and I will take your advice, at least until I get myself back to normal. Thank you for calling; I'll talk to you soon.”

They ended the call and Amren sat back in her chair to think, rubbing the bridge of her nose again. She picked up her phone and called Mor to see what progress she had made on Rhys' calendar. Mor picked up immediately and they exchanged information, with Amren recounting the whole of her conversation with Azriel regarding the meeting, keeping back only their talk of Azriel's plans for the day and his current state of mind.

Mor told her that she and Roger had reworked the calendar to free Rhys for the remainder of the week but that there were a few items that either Mor or Amren would need to handle. Amren asked her to send a her a list of what she would need to take care of and that she'd be glad to take care of whatever it involved. They talked about the meeting, agreeing that it went much worse than either had thought, and that it explained Rhys' reaction.

“Azriel hit the nail on the head,” Mor said. “The way he put that 'asshole CEO-tyrannical head of the family' bit, you know good and well that that's what set Rhys off. He shouldn't have linked it; Rhys would have seen it as a threat to both the company and the family, and you know how he'd take that, especially the family part.”

“I know,” said Amren, and I've got a very good idea of what he's trying to do right now. I'm going to call Feyre and see if she'll tell me for sure, though I doubt she will. I'll keep you posted, and thanks for reworking the calendar.”

“No problem,” Mor said, and they ended the call.

Amren immediately called Feyre and, as she expected, Feyre gave nothing up. If Amren hadn't needed information, she'd have admired Feyre's ability to go up against her questioning and succeed in not divulging anything. Amren did pass on a message for Rhys if Feyre talked to him, telling him that he was free for the remainder of the week and that Azriel felt badly about the meeting and wanted to talk to him. That was as far as she was able to get Feyre to commit, so she ended the call, taking a chance by telling Feyre that if she saw him, Amren would be grateful for anything Feyre could do to put Rhys back together, that she hadn't seen him this upset since his family had passed away. She said that for two reasons: it was the truth on the face of it, but it also served to warn Feyre of his current state, to prepare her for trying to work with the situation.

Amren put her phone down, rubbed the bridge of her nose again, then went to get lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the universe and canon characters belongs to the inestimable Sarah J. Maas. I am responsible for original characters and this specific plot line.
> 
> TW for sexual behavior between consenting adults.

In Adriata, later Wednesday...

After a passionate lovemaking session, Feyre and Rhys had napped in each other's arms, waking about seven o'clock. Feyre woke first, stretching and taking in the scent and view of her sleeping Rhys. A wash of love rushed through her and she paused for a moment to just enjoy her feelings. _It's hard to believe this scene is actually real,_ she thought. _I never believed I would meet someone like him, let alone become so close. I never thought I could be so happy with someone else._

Rhys gradually came awake, smiling at the sight of his Feyre, gorgeous with her mussed hair following their lovemaking. “We should do this more often,” he said softly.

“I could buy into that, but I'll take any time I can have with you,” Feyre replied just as softly. She made to get up, telling him that she'd be right back, and went to the bath to freshen up. On her return, Rhys told her that she'd had a wonderful idea which he was copying, and that he'd be back in a moment.

On Rhys' return, they gathered each other into their arms, talking quietly and cuddling. After a time, Feyre brought them back to reality, asking Rhys if he would prefer that she order a pizza or something delivered from one of the restaurants they liked.

“Would you rather go out?,” asked Rhys. “Either the restaurant we went to in June that one night or the seafood place would be fine with me.”

“I don't really want to dress up and go out, love. I'd rather keep you all to myself tonight, she said, wiggling her eyebrows. We can get delivery from either place through my food delivery app, if it's okay with you.”

“In all the days that I live, I will **never** turn down a chance to stay in with you, my love,” he vowed. “What do you feel like eating tonight?”

“Hmm. Seafood, I think. You don't get a chance to have it the way that restaurant does it very often. Though we could try that place that cooks Day Region food we've talked about—the one that offers aphrodisiacs as well as meals.” At that, Feyre grinned at him with an arched brow.

“Much as the opportunity to expand our sexual horizons normally appeals to me, I'm in no shape to survive the experience tonight,” Rhys returned the grin and kissed her soundly. “Seafood sounds great to me. Let's do that.”

With that settled, they rose and dressed in casual clothes, then went downstairs and placed their dinner order. Feyre wanted her usual order from the restaurant, and Rhys decided to try it. In about a half hour, the order was delivered and they dug in while watching Netflix.

“That was awesome!,” Rhys pronounced as he finished his meal. “You have very good taste in seafood, Feyre Darling.”

“Just in seafood, Prick? I happen to think my taste in Night Region males is spectacular, for instance,” she responded instantly.

“Oho, so you want to play, love? I won't play that game, because you are very correct. I was mistakenly ignoring all the things in this world in which your good taste is unparalleled,” he told her. “That list is much too lengthy to get through tonight, I'm afraid,” he smirked.

Feyre rolled her eyes at him and flipped him off. “If you were any more over the top with your bull, you'd fall off your peak. You're learning to pace yourself, but you're walking a fine line with it.”

They laughed and Rhys rose to collect and fold the laundry he'd done while Feyre took care of the few dishes their dinner had used. They met at the davenport in the sitting room, sitting side by side, touching wherever they could. They resumed the movie they were watching, comfortable in their closeness.

About eleven o'clock, the movie ended and they closed up the townhouse to go upstairs and prepare for bed. Rhys used the bath while Feyre gathered what clothing she would need to go to work in the morning and took it into the guest room where she would dress in the morning. She set an alarm request on her phone, set it to vibrate, and put it under her pillow, hoping that Rhys would sleep through her getting up in the morning.

After Rhys finished in the bath, she took her turn and joined him in bed, crawling into his waiting arms. “I want you to sleep in tomorrow,” she told him. “You'll likely have a very long day alone here so sleeping in would take some of the time. Did you want me to leave the car with you? I can find another way to work.”

“No, not at all, but thanks for the offer. I'll have to remote access the company which will take part of the time, and you have a lot of books I can read. Being in the land of eternal good weather, I'd like to be outside in your back yard,” he smirked. “This is nothing like Velaris right now, so I'll enjoy reading outside. I'll be fine so don't worry,” Rhys said.

“I'll leave the coffee stuff by the coffeemaker, and you know where the breakfast stuff is. I bought enough lunch food for a couple more days; the breads are in the cabinet and the salads, cold cuts, cheeses, and other stuff are in the refrigerator, along with beer and sodas. You **might** find cookies if you get hungry for a snack, but you'll have to look for them,” Feyre teased. “They'd be in the kitchen somewhere. That's the one clue I'll give you. I'll text you when I'm ready to leave work; it'll be around five o'clock unless Alis discovers that you stayed over. She'll kick me loose early if she knows—so don't call her. It would look very bad,” Feyre mock-glared at him and they both laughed.

“I'll be fine, love,” Rhys repeated. “Just come home to me when you can,” Rhys said as he kissed her deeply and massaged her breast. Feyre responded immediately, licking Rhys' lips, asking permission to enter. He opened for her and their tongues met for their own dance as she stroked his backside and he gently squeezed her peaked nipples. He broke off their kiss as he strung kisses down her jaw, stopping to nibble an earlobe and blow gently into her ear. Feyre was letting her hands roam where they, one of them sliding over Rhys' groin, eliciting a soft groan from his throat. She gently took his erect cock in her hand as he was paying homage to her breasts. She was stroking him gently as he moved his lips down her torso, placing butterfly kisses wherever his lips lit. She felt the heat in her core rising and heard Rhys gently panting as she began pumping his cock in a slow rhythm. His mouth finally found her clit as he put a long finger in her core and pumped to the rhythm Feyre had set. He inserted a second finger and sped up his rhythm as Feyre found precum on the tip of his cock. She gently rubbed it over the top as he brought her closer to climax. As his tongue danced with her clit and his magic fingers stroked in her core, she felt the waves of pure pleasure course through her and groaned at the back of her throat. He worked her through her climax, then gently flipped her onto her stomach and pulled her core to his waiting cock, entering in one deep stroke. He kept a hand moving on her clit, holding her to him with his other hand, moving in her hard and fast. Both were groaning in pleasure as their heat rapidly built into climaxes. Feyre tightened her core around him which caused him to call out her name as he came, and she called his name just after. They collapsed in each other's arms, nuzzling and talking for a short while before a peaceful sleep claimed them.

Feyre woke just before her alarm was set to go off and she quietly disabled it. She felt rested and refreshed as she gently untangled herself from Rhys' arms and got up to start her day. Beginning with a gentle kiss to the top of Rhys' head, she left the bedroom with her phone, closing the bedroom door after herself, and went across the hall to the bath where she took a quick shower. After dressing in a simple dark red jersey dress and boots outfit which was comfortable for her job, she braided her hair and put on a light array of makeup and a faint bit of perfume. She checked to see if she'd gotten makeup on Rhys' ring and was satisfied that it looked as perfect as it always did. She stopped herself from reliving the pretty autumn day in September when he'd given it to her; much as she enjoyed reliving it, now was not the time with a job to get to.

She quietly picked up and wiped up the bath and took all the laundry downstairs and set it in a basket, planning to do it later that day, or more likely tomorrow. She made coffee and put her phone on the charger to recharge it since it had been under her pillow last night. After getting some yogurt, cheese, and a little bread for her breakfast, she glanced at her phone, not having bothered to check it after she and Rhys had gotten in yesterday afternoon. She'd seen that she had messages in the app when she'd opened the food delivery app last night but had decided she didn't want to know who wanted her for any reason last night. This trip, what Rhys needed mattered more and she felt not one iota of guilt over it.

She debated with herself whether or not she should look at it now and decided to go ahead and at least see what she had waiting for her. She wouldn't answer any messages from his family until she found out how Rhys wanted to play it—she had no idea what any of them knew and didn't want to tell any of them anything by accident that Rhys preferred to keep between himself and Azriel. She gingerly opened the app and saw three messages from Mor, one from Amren, and one from Alis.

She checked the one from Alis first, deeming it to be the easiest to deal with. All Alis wanted to do was wish Feyre and Rhys good luck with whatever they were dealing with and to remind Feyre that she could take as much time off as she needed. All Feyre need to do would be to place a time off request in the company's scheduler. Feyre quickly answered the text, thanking Alis for her good wishes and concern and telling her she would be in the office at her regular time so they'd talk then. She sent that, then took another spoonful of yogurt, steeled herself and read Amren's text. She sighed in relief as she saw that Amren only thanked Feyre for talking with her yesterday and for whatever she could do to help Rhys. She felt safe enough in replying that she was very happy to do whatever she could to help Rhys and anyone in his family, so it was really no problem for her. She sent that text and looked at the headers for the three remaining ones, determining that she really needed to finish eating and having her coffee, and it was getting close to time for her to leave, so she could put them off until her break at work. Satisfied, she did just that, put her phone and charger in her purse, brushed her teeth in the downstairs bath, and left for the day. She was relieved that Rhys had slept in—he'd looked and felt exhausted yesterday after his day from hell.

Feyre arrived at work at eight-thirty and set about her regular tasks. She prepped Alis' calendar, then her own, and made sure that Alis had the necessary research paperwork organized on her desk for the proposals on which she was currently working. She started brewing coffee for Alis and herself and went to check with Landri and Josef to see how they were coming along with their work. They were doing fine, but Feyre arranged to return later that day to provide them with an update on future projects she wanted them to work on as they could. The three of them worked well as a team, so Landri and Josef understood that Feyre wasn't loading them down with work that had to be done immediately; she was only preparing them for what was coming next after they finished their current projects.

At nine o'clock, Feyre was at her desk beginning her own work for the day when Alis strode in. “Many thanks for your text, Feyre,” Alis said. “Can you come into the office with the coffee and we can catch up?,” she looked at Feyre meaningfully.

Feyre readily agreed, pouring their cups and taking both into Alis' office. “We should close the door,” Alis said. “This, being a personal matter, should be kept between us. We can hear the elevator bell if someone comes up and anyone coming up the stairs would work here and know to knock on the door.”

Feyre did as Alis asked and sat down in a chair. “Thank you so much for your text, Alis; it means a lot to me,” Feyre said.

“You're very welcome; now tell me how you are this morning. Yesterday had to be stressful, especially before you found out what was going on.”

“I'm fine, but then I always was. It was stressful, of course, but it ended up being a matter of helping Rhys process the event. Everyone is fine in Velaris, but he had a bad argument with one of his members of upper management, made worse by his proximity to this person. He was still terribly upset when he arrived here, but we talked the episode through and he was able to establish some distance between it and himself, so by last night, he was able to see that the situation isn't hopeless and had greatly relaxed. Thank you for the time to let me help with it,” Feyre concluded.

“Pfft, Feyre. You are always on top of your job—we missed your smiling face, of course, but none of us missed a beat. What's your situation today?”

Feyre knew that Alis was really asking if Rhys was still in Adriata but she ignored the implied question and answered the actual one. “I've set up an informal meeting with Landri and Josef to give them their next projects; both are nearly finished with their current ones. You did a great job hiring those two,” she noted. “They work well together and both of them are really mastering their roles here. It makes my job much easier to have them here. As for me, I will be continuing my research into the proposed acquisition. It looks good on the surface, but there are some anomalies in their audited business reports that I need to track down if I can, and if not, I'll point them out in the research package you get and you can decide if they're deal-killers or not.”

“Very smooth, Feyre,” Alis said dryly. “It almost worked—not,” she smiled.

Feyre shrugged and grinned at her boss. “Hey, it's early. I can only work with what I've got this time of day.”

“That's true enough,” Alis replied. “I will ask a specific question, then, since you prefer them that way this early. Is Rhys still here? I ask because I want you with him this trip if he is, under the circumstances.”

“He'll be leaving this evening,” Feyre admitted. “However, he and I agreed that, where I want to take that time off between Solstice and New Years, I would work my regular schedule between today and Solstice Eve. Besides, I'd like to get to the bottom of those anomalies I mentioned and I'd do that better here than at home.”

“Back up what you've got and I'll look into it this afternoon and I'll add whatever avenues I search and whatever results I find to your work, okay? You've made an important find and we definitely need it tracked down and adequately explained before proceeding with an acquisition offer. I'll put my work in a section at the end of what you've done so you can easily see what, if anything, I found. If you've got your planned projects for Landri and Joseph ready to give them, do that next. Go home. Spend time with Rhys. He's a very lucky male—I think you helped him with his problem a lot more than you know. You're a whole lot more able than you think you are. At any rate, that's your schedule for today. Final offer.” Alis made a shooing motion with her hands and Feyre laughed, thanked her and followed her instructions.

She looked at her clock; it was a bit short of ten o'clock when she'd finished her tasks, so she took a chance that Rhys was up and texted him that she would be home soon, told Alis goodbye and thanked her again, and left for home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the universe and canon characters belongs to the inestimable Sarah J. Maas. I am responsible for original characters and this specific plot line.

Wednesday evening in Velaris...

Azriel was sitting in his quiet apartment trying to read a book in the late afternoon. A wintry sun was trying to brighten his living room but there was as little warmth and light in it as there was in Azriel's current mood. He put the book down after rereading the same page for fifteen minutes without retaining a word on the page. He got up and poured a short glass of whiskey over ice, a rare drink for him as he normally drank very little alcohol. After turning on his audio system to some elevator music feed or other—he didn't want to think about music, either, but just wanted to break the seemingly oppressive silence, he sat in his recliner again with his drink at hand and settled down to wait for Cassian. Today, though, he was tired of his own thoughts, so he hoped Cassian would arrive soon. As though his wish had been heard, there was a knock on the door, so he got up and let Cassian in. After getting Cassian a beer and pouring a bag of snack chips in a large bowl, they returned to his sitting room, with Cassian sprawling on the davenport while Azriel put the chips on the coffee table then returned to the recliner.

He scrubbed his hands over his face when Cassian asked him what the in the hells of the Cauldron had happened today.

“Not one of my finest performances, that's for freaking sure,” Azriel answered. “What did you hear?,” he asked, wanting to know what the rumor mill had produced so far.

“Word is that you had a meeting with Rhys and that right afterward, he left his office and no one saw him come back today. I called Mor and all she would tell me is that there was a meeting and that Rhys needed to leave for a little while. There hasn't been much else in the rumor mill, not yet,” Cassian said. “I didn't dare ask Amren about it.”

“Then I'll tell you about the meeting itself; I hadn't known that Rhys had left also. I left as soon as I could rearrange my calendar and haven't talked to anyone but Amren since I've been home.”

Azriel went on to recount the meeting, much as he had with Amren with Cassian just listening carefully and making no interruptions. When he reached the end of his version of events, he sighed deeply and took a long sip from his whiskey.

“Dude. What were you even thinking?,” Cassian asked. “I know this is brutal but you know how Rhys feels about the family and the company. You had to know how he'd take that 'asshole CEO-tyrannical head of the family' thing, and where he was looking for you to have a decision about your role, he wasn't expecting what he got. You're lucky he went ice cold this time. I wouldn't have wanted to see what was left of you afterward if he'd have wanted to go to the training ring.”

Cassian shook his head and finished his beer. He got up to get another and asked Azriel if he wanted more whiskey. Azriel declined, saying he hadn't finished what he had yet.

“See, I was angry about what was going to happen with my job and not being able to choose between divisions because I really like the challenge of working in both,” Azriel said. “When Rhys said he needed an answer by the end of today or he'd have to choose for me based on the good of the company, even though I knew that I was wrong not to give him a decision or tell him I couldn't decide when he had originally wanted me to on the first of December, I still just lost it. After that it was the anger talking. He didn't deserve it at all.”

“So, where did you go after you left work?,” Cassian asked.

“Here for a while. I was pretty upset; angry about the division split even though I know it makes sense for the company. It destroys my current job at the company, a job I love. I knew as soon as those words were out of my mouth, the ones about getting another job as well as the ones you mention, that I had done a terrible thing to him. He went ice cold, as you know, and I got out as soon as I could. I was brooding when Amren called me while I was here, wanting my version of events, but she didn't say anything about Rhys leaving, so I hadn't known that. After I talked to Amren, I went to the gym for a couple of hours and then got lunch from a drive-thru and came back here. Mor called but I let it go to voicemail—I can only tell the story so many times in one day, and she couldn't have said anything worse to me than what I've been saying to myself,” Azriel said.

“You haven't heard any more from either Amren or Mor? Maybe they don't know much yet, either,” Cassian hazarded a guess.

“Maybe. I told Amren that I regretted saying what I did and that I wanted to see Rhys when I could. I'm going in tomorrow, and I'll probably see if I can see Amren if we can find a time bot she and I are free for a little while. Maybe I can find out more then.”

“Try to relax, Az. It sounds like this was bad, don't get me wrong, but if you both cool off, you'll see that you can both apologize and get by this. I don't know what to say about your job, but we can manage that later. For now, just worry about solving the personal issue, okay? And be honest with Rhys if you genuinely can't decide what to do.

“We ought to go out drinking tonight,” Cassian offered, seemingly apropos of nothing, but that happened to be one of his solutions to problems.

“No. we really shouldn't. I'd be a morose drunk tonight and hung over tomorrow. That'd be a good look, all things considered,” Az said sarcastically.

“We're at least going out for dinner, then,” Cassian said. “At a restaurant, not a club or bar or anything. We'll be perfectly proper males and I'll even get you home at a decent hour with no risk of a hangover tomorrow,” he promised.

“All right, I'll agree to that,” Azriel said. “The walls are starting to close in on me, so it would be good to get out for a while. When and where do you want to go?”

“When? Anytime. You know that I can eat at any hour. Where? What do you feel like? Sevenda's? Steak? Burgers? Health food? Ewww is my value judgement on that last one.”

“I kind of feel like steak or burgers,” Az answered. “Your choice of the place. I showered at the gym, so I'm ready to go when you are.”

“Let's go now, then. Maybe we'll go to the Longhorn...we can get either one there.”

With that, the two males got up and left for the evening, Cassian watching Azriel carefully.

Thursday morning in Adriata

The Adriata sun was shining through the gaps in Feyre's curtains when Rhys roused. He knew immediately that he had overslept. Again, he had a moment of disorientation but soon remembered that he was at Feyre's. And he remembered why he was there. Rhys groaned and turned over, trying to shut the day out, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything, and he really did feel better about the entire situation after talking to Feyre. Once again, she had amazed him with her insight and original thinking. And her knowledge of how contracts are done—that was out of the blue. _She must have a matrix thing in that beautiful brain like Amren does_ , he mused. _Wait until I tell Mor about this. She's been telling me this very thing about Feyre since March and she's right._

Rhys gathered himself and reached for his phone—again Feyre had let him borrow a charger so he was in good shape with that. He checked the time and saw that it was nine-thirty in the morning. _Yep. Thoroughly overslept,_ he thought.

He got a clean tee shirt, sweatpants, and underwear from his stash of clothing that he kept here and took a quick shower, once again appreciating Feyre's scent from her morning ablutions before taking his own shower. Rhys' phone chimed to let him know that he had a new text as he was shaving, so he stopped and glanced at it to find that his Feyre was on her way home. He immediately texted back that he'd be waiting with open arms and a sound kiss. Then he told her to drive safely in spite of that knowledge weighing on her mind, adding a smile emoji. He sent the text and hurried through the rest of his morning routine.

He picked up the upstairs rooms and wiped up the bath, then gathered his phone and all the laundry, headed downstairs, and dropped the clothes off in the laundry room basket. He'd start the wash when he got any clothes Feyre wanted to add in from the clothes she wore today. In the meantime, coffee was a distinct necessity. He made enough for Feyre to have some, too. He went over his messages while he was waiting for the coffee to brew. Only one each from Mor and Amren, both hoping he was feeling better and telling him that the company was running smoothly and not to worry about rushing back, but that they would see to it that he had a meeting scheduled with Azriel on Friday; they'd text the meeting time to him today after they'd spoken to Roger who would be scheduling it.

He responded to both, thanking them for their understanding and their help in this matter and telling them that Feyre had offered a possible solution to Azriel's job situation but that he wanted to think about it and discuss it with them first. He sent their texts and glanced at the internet news. As he was going through it, he heard to front door open and he rose to meet Feyre, making sure that his arms were spread wide as promised. She set her purse and computer bag on the table and walked straight into those arms and returned his sound kiss.

“I'm sorry, Prick, but I wasn't at work long enough to be able to send you a text asking if you missed me,” she breathed when the kiss eventually ended.

“I will show you how much I missed you, then,” Rhys leered.

“That's a thought,” Feyre allowed coyly. “You can help me change.”

“Better and better,” he announced. “You caught on to how to play this game in a hurry.”

Feyre rolled her eyes at him and they went upstairs to play their little game.

Later in the day, they'd come back downstairs and were eating lunch and checking their messages, so Feyre finally looked at Mor's messages. Mor, of course, wanted Feyre's information on Rhys—where he was, how he was doing, his plans. All of that had to be discussed with Rhys before Feyre replied so that she told Mor only what he wanted her to know. Rhys asked for a few minutes to think it over, then plan his strategy and let Feyre know, so she took care of the lunch dishes and started the laundry, before returning to the table.

“What do you think of this?,” he asked after Feyre sat down. “I don't think it needs to be a secret that I came here, so it's safe to tell her that. You can tell her that I'm much better—I leave it to you to decide how much you pat yourself on the back for your part in that, which was huge, by the way. And not just in the lovemaking, although that was magnificent. Being able to talk it through with someone not directly involved who has knowledge of both the job and family situations helped immeasurably and I will forever be grateful, love.

“As to any plans, there are no concrete ones yet that she doesn't already know—that I'm returning to the office tomorrow morning and they are setting up a meeting with Az tomorrow sometime. She also knows that I want to talk to both Amren and her about your proposal. That talk should be done today so I can start to figure out how to structure the meeting with Az tomorrow. They may advise against the proposal, they may be all for it, or they may be neutral. I just want their input before talking to him. So, I guess kind of hedge on any plans you tell her and stick with what she already knows?,” Rhys looked at her expectantly.

“Okay, that's easy enough to do and gives you the most leeway in your arrangements,” Feyre said as she started to type Mor's text. She did that, then moved the washed laundry to the dryer. She started checking internet news and her favorite websites as Rhys worked.

Rhys handled his own messages in the same manner, locked his phone, and took out his computer to remote access the company. It took about an hour to take care of the reports and mail he had as well as pass on any decisions he made on matters that needed his input. Once he had completed that work, he was ready to think about how to approach Mor and Amren about Feyre's proposal regarding Azriel's job. When he'd come up with a loose framework to accommodate the discussion he wanted to have with both of them, he picked up his phone and asked Feyre if she wanted the conversations on speakerphone since they would mostly involve her idea. Feyre told him absolutely not, that these were business conversations and she was not part of the upper management of the business. She added that she didn't care if anyone even knew of her input, saying, “Maybe it would even be best if all of them just think you're down here for my 'wild Adriata ways,'” as she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Too late, sorry not sorry,” Rhys said. “I told both Mor and Amren that **you** had made an interesting proposal regarding Azriel's job that I wanted to discuss with them. The knowledge doesn't have to go beyond them if you don't want it to, though.”

“I don't have an objection in any area other than the perception of it. It will tell Azriel and the others, but especially Az, that you discussed the situation with me, an outsider. You may want to be very careful in that area since I'm quite sure that he wants as few people to know about it as possible. You'll have to be able to make a case to him for telling me besides that we're together as a couple.”

“You made your own case by developing the idea,” countered Rhys. “Both Mor and I are astounded at your business acumen. I'd have been a total idiot not to consult you on this, even if I hadn't needed you so badly emotionally and physically at the same time. Someday I'm going to manage to get you to see your own worth, your own strengths. Someday. Until then, Feyre Darling, I'll just have to keep telling you,” he said, arching his brow.

“Stop it or I'll have to blush, Prick” Feyre drawled. “I'll take your point as an unproved assumption but acceptable as a premise for the sake of argument. A premise with a big asterisk attached to it that means it's unproven and therefore shaky.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“You stop with the magical tongue or I'll never get this done, then I'll have to stay over longer, and who knows how that'll end?,” Rhys teased. “Back to these calls, though. Can I ask them if either Mor and Amren object to you having input since the conversation is about your idea and then I'll honor their wishes?”

“I guess so,” said Feyre slowly, “but I'm not enthused, and I don't want to talk much if at all.”

“That's fine,” answered Rhys. “I just want to keep you in the knowledge loop—maybe they have questions for which you can see a ready answer that hasn't occurred to anyone else. One of the things I've noticed about you is your ability to think outside of the box, but you temper your creative thinking with practicality and that gets you useful solutions. The rest of us tend to color inside the lines, except for Cassian, who I don't think ever learned what lines are even for, let alone follows any line rules. It's amazing he's such an effective head of security, but he definitely is that,” Rhys said with a lopsided grin. So, you're okay with it?”

“I'm going to need more coffee when I do this, so give me five minutes to make some. Do you want any?,” asked Feyre.

“Yes, please. That would be great, thanks.”

Shortly, Rhys had connected with Mor, who was actually with Amren, figuring out when to schedule Rhys' meeting with Azriel the next day. While Rhys' calendar was mostly free due to only having to handle the items that they weren't able to reschedule, Azriel's schedule had to be worked around. Rhys could have pulled rank, of course, but no one, including him, thought that was desirable under the circumstances, so they were still working on finding time for the meeting. They all agreed that both Rhys and Mor using speakerphone was the best way to proceed, it was engaged, and they had their conference.

Rhys began by asking if Mor and Amren knew how Azriel was doing and was told that, while there was no need for actual worry, Azriel was still horribly upset about his part in the meeting, that he understood the necessity of splitting off software development, and understood that he would have to accept it and go on from there but perhaps with less anger and drama. Rhys allowed that he had likely completely missed any signals Azriel may have sent that indicated his unhappiness with the split or he would have been more sensitive about handling Azriel's transition. As it was, he gave Azriel deadlines for a decision that Azriel had no desire to make, but Rhys didn't know that there was a problem and that he should have been discussing it with Azriel over the weeks and months since the decision to split was made.

“That's all water under the bridge and both of you can and should apologize to each other at your meeting,” commented Amren. “The next step is to discuss this proposal Feyre has offered, so I think we should give the floor to her.”

Everyone agreed, so Feyre took a deep breath and laid out her proposal for Azriel to step down out of management entirely and take a dual role as a developer and as a tech. She indicated that his superiors would need to work closely on scheduling and would need to be somewhat flexible when one or the other of his assigned teams faced a crunch situation and needed him more than the other for the duration of the crunch. The downsides to Azriel himself if he accepted such a proposal were gone over, such as lower pay and lesser job responsibilities as well as reduced job status. There would be a need for team and division managers to watch team morale in the divisions—Azriel would be assigned to teams and have to fit in as a regular employee willing to pull his own weight, not be seen by his teammates as a former division leader missing some of his former perks. Everyone in the discussion agreed that Azriel's normally self-effacing personality could succeed with his teams in this area of concern.

Feyre concluded her proposal by saying that she thought that, from what she'd known and had heard of Azriel as a member of Starr Technologies, it was worth their while to at least consider this as a possible way to keep a valuable team member at Starr. She then opened it up for discussion and sat back in her chair, sipping coffee as the others debated the wisdom of trying the approach against the risk of potentially upsetting employees in two divisions and talked about what kind of salary Azriel would be paid and the fact that it would necessarily be less than he earned now.

Feyre thought to interject a comment here to the effect that Azriel might well accept a proposal such as they were discussing as a soft landing spot while he looked for another position outside of the company that was more similar to what he had now. “Considering he loves this particular job, it would be surprising if he didn't try to find such a position elsewhere at some point. Will you all be fine with that? Would it change his status in the family as far as you all are concerned?”

All agreed that, having been forced to consider it over the past few days, it was more important for Azriel to be happy in his job and happy in his family than to force him into a job that wasn't right for him and which would cause his unhappiness to bleed over into the family; if for no other reason, the family members would see that he was unhappy and he would likely resent them for forcing him into a job he didn't want. In other words, all were completely for separating the family issues from the job issues. Regardless of what Azriel chose to do about a job, he would always be in the Starr family.

“So, then,” began Rhys. “I would have to make the final decision on whether or not to offer Az this hybrid role, but I need both of your thoughts on it, positive, negative, or neutral. Please tell me everything you're thinking because I don't have much time to decide. I need to get his situation settled one way or another so I can work on staffing the new division as well as apparently needing a new lead for IT. Amren, you're up.”

“I agree with the proposal as presented.,” Amren stated. “Feyre, I thank you for such a cogent, well-thought-out presentation. Your inclusion of the need to keep watch on org morale is particularly striking. It shows very deep understanding of group dynamics and how important it is to the success of any sort of organization, business or not.”

Rhys spoke up, saying, “Would you believe that Feyre presented this proposal to me Wednesday evening while we were first discussing the meeting? She laid it out exactly as you heard it, including all of the smaller details. Just as a 'what if we tried this' trial balloon. She's phenomenal; you can see that I didn't come here just to lick my wounds, though that was the bigger reason—or to have them licked,” he teased Feyre gently.

“That's enough, Rhys,” Feyre broke in. “Don't make this proposal any more than what it is, although, Amren, I thank you for your kind words. It just seemed like an idea which all of you could consider is all,” she concluded.

“I won't make it into more than it is,” Rhys promised, “but neither will I make it into **less** than it is. You've done the family and the company a huge favor, presenting a way to ease Az's job transition in a relatively easy way and, most importantly for the project calendar, in a time-efficient manner. Accept it, love: we're grateful. Amren, sometime talk to Mor about the business dinner we had with Feyre in March. We were both blown away by her deep knowledge of all of her company's divisions and her ability to express each one's needs in terms of our software, and why some products would help one division yet be useless for another division. It was amazing. Then add this proposal which is entirely different than what we were discussing in March. Feyre's mind works a lot like yours, Amren, it seems to me, scary as that is. One of you is a challenge, but two? I concede defeat right now,” he joked.

Mor commented that Amren would need at least two hours to hear all that Mor had to say about Feyre's abilities, or she could take the quick and dirty version that Rhys had offered and which Mor heartily endorsed, especially now that she'd heard the story of how this proposal had been delivered to Rhys: 'she's phenomenal.'

Amren responded that she'd still like to hear the story of the March dinner and would set up a time with Mor soon to get it done. Feyre just groaned softly as Rhys grinned at her and took her small hand in his larger one, drawing patterns on hers with his thumb to comfort her.

“Okay, Mor. What are your thoughts?,” Rhys asked.

“First, I'd also like to thank you, Feyre. You may think of your proposal as just a small thing because you can do these things off the top of your head, like Amren can do, especially since both of you are always correct and complete with your first draft, so to speak, but however small this might seem to you, please understand how huge it is for us as a company and as a family. I also approve the proposal with the suggestion that Az be paid at the top end of the scale for his assigned roles. He has the experience to have earned it.”

“I will agree with both of you and will find out from Human Resources what the pay scales for those positions are and rank him at the top for both,” Rhys stated. “Please text me when you schedule the meeting tomorrow, and please don't say anything to him about what we've discussed, other than that I hope he's feeling better. I am feeling better, especially now, having talked to both of you in addition to Feyre. I am much more hopeful that we can work out the family issues, even if Azriel chooses not to stay at Starr. I'd hate to see that, but I can understand it completely. I want him to be happy in his work, and if that can't be at Starr, then I want it for him elsewhere and would help him get it.

“I think that takes care of all we need to cover today unless either of you have anything else to add that I would need to handle. I'll be in the office tomorrow by nine o'clock unless you need that meeting to happen before then. Text when you have the meeting set, and otherwise, thank you very, very much for what you've both done for this matter as well as for what you do every day.”

Mor and Amren promised to stay in touch and wished both Feyre and Rhys a good rest of Rhys' visit, as well as thanking Feyre again, then ended the call.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the universe and canon characters belongs to the inestimable Sarah J. Maas. I am responsible for original characters and this specific plot line.

“I need a shower after that ordeal,” commented Feyre.

Rhys looked hopeful right up until Feyre added, “Alone. You have a lovely family, don't get me wrong, but I'm not in the same league as any of you business-wise, and I'd rather play in my own sandbox, thank you so much. I enjoy social events with all of them, though. I need to calm down in the shower, love, and I can't do that if you're 'helping.'”

Rhys subsided more or less gracefully and set about finishing the laundry as Feyre went upstairs. He picked up their coffee cups and cleaned them as well as the coffee pot and filter, then put his computer and phone on chargers and wandered into the sitting room. He was watching cable news when Feyre came back down, refreshed and restored to her normal equilibrium.

“It's two-thirty now, and we need to leave for the airport around five-thirty,” Feyre began. "Since it's what passes for winter here and much cooler than it was in June, do you want to go out to the beach and get some tapas to eat? We can eat them there while we're wandering around or bring them back here, whatever you want to do.”

“Sure, that sounds good,” Rhys replied. “I really liked the ones we had in June.”

“Okay, I sort of remember exactly what we got, but I remember the general sense of what you said you liked. We should be able to find ones we'll enjoy.”

Feyre grabbed her phone and purse; Rhys told her he needed to recharge his phone while they were gone, so she made sure her battery would be able to get through the trip and they left for the beach. They spent a couple of hours walking the beach in the winter sun and fresh air, both of them holding onto each other, talking and laughing. The tapas and their sodas were as delicious as Rhys had remembered, and they had a very enjoyable afternoon, though both eventually became more quiet as the time to leave for the airport neared.

They returned home about five o'clock to allow Rhys time to change into his travel clothes. When he came downstairs and joined Feyre on the davenport, she asked him if he remembered when he asked her if he could come to Adriata.

“You asked, and, of course I said yes, because what fool would say no? Then you let it be known that you were already at the airport. Perhaps you are a little too sure of me?,” she asked while arching an eyebrow.”

“Oh, no,” Rhys said seriously. “I didn't go through the actual security checks until I had your permission to come. If it hadn't been okay, then I'd have paid the fee to change the ticket to another departure date and gone home and gotten drunk. As you may have noticed, I wasn't thinking all that well Wednesday, but I wouldn't disrespect you by showing up unannounced; I also wanted to be sure I could get on a plane before calling you and disturbing a workday, so...,” he shrugged.

“I'm just teasing, love. You're welcome anytime, notice or no notice. Notice just gets you food in the house and, occasionally, a new set of lingerie,” she smirked.

They moved into each other's arms and cuddled until it was time to gather Rhys' computer and its charger and his phone then leave for the airport. The trip out there was uneventful and they waited as long as they could before he entered Security.

“Thank you, Feyre, from the bottom of my heart. You put me back together when I was in a very dark place; you weren't afraid of me. You just did it. I love you so much,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her.

“I wasn't afraid **of** you, but I was afraid **for** you,” Feyre said quietly. “I was very afraid for you because I know what your family means to you. I'm very, very glad you're feeling better and that we have a possible path forward for everyone, but at least the threat to the family should be over. I love you so much, Rhys Starr, and I'll miss you.” She threw her arms around him, taking in his scent as he was taking in hers. At least this separation should be only ten days or so, which heartened them a little.

After a last lingering hug and kiss, Rhys entered the checkpoint with a wave and disappeared. Again, Feyre waited in the aircraft viewing lounge to watch his plane take off, then went home alone.

Friday in Velaris

Amren had texted Rhys Thursday evening, telling him that his meeting with Azriel was scheduled for eleven-thirty Friday morning and allowed for thirty minutes. _That should be enough time to at least begin to solve the family issue and give Az Feyre's job proposal_ , Rhys thought. He felt more hopeful now that he had put some time and space between the first meeting and this one. He felt more in control of himself, as well, and that could only help.

He got to work about eight-thirty, made coffee, and opened his computer to see what his day looked like, other than the meeting. It was light, of course, given that Mor and Roger had planned for him to be gone today, but there were some project updates that needed to happen. It appeared that he would be able to start posting job possibilities for the entire management tree of the software development division as well as for a new lead for the IT department, so he could start formulating those in order to start putting the listings in the company job bank. It was his thought that he would try to hire from within, but shortly after he put the listings in the job bank, he would put them on some of the better known internet job sites and then decide if an outside candidate was better than an in-house candidate.

He was busy writing listings when Roger arrived at nine o'clock. They exchanged greetings and Rhys thanked him for all he did to help Mor and Amren Wednesday and Thursday. Roger demurred, of course, telling Rhys that what he did was simply part of the the job, so not to worry about it, though he thanked him for his kindness. Rhys let him know that the meeting with Az had been inserted into the calendar, and that Rhys would be taking all the calendar events today, and otherwise working on paperwork. Roger acknowledged it and went to start his day. Rhys called out that he'd made enough coffee for both of them, so Roger should take advantage. Roger thanked him and they both set to their own tasks.

At eleven-fifteen, Roger knocked on the door frame to Rhys' office and told him that his meeting was due to start in fifteen minutes. Rhys thanked him and asked for coffee to be made, and that Azriel be asked to come in whenever he arrived. Roger agreed and went to brew the coffee. Rhys spent the remaining time going over his planned agenda for the meeting, recognizing how quickly it could slip off the tracks as it did on Wednesday, and determined that this not be allowed to happen again.

Azriel arrived at eleven-twenty-five, and came in with Roger, who brought the coffee. He put it on the coffee table in the little sitting area of Rhys' office where he liked to have less formal meetings, then excused himself quietly. There were four plush chairs upholstered in black arranged around a smoky glass-topped black chrome table that was normally quite comfortable. Today, however, though Rhys tried to convey a relaxed presence, there was tension in the room. He hoped it might be reduced if he got his apologies out of the way, so he gestured to the chairs and asked Az to please sit.

Both sat and Rhys began. “Az, I need to apologize to you for some of what I said on Wednesday. First, I had no idea you were upset over the split; I'm sorry if I missed any signals you sent regarding that. Had I realized it, we'd have talked this out earlier. And I should never have taken your statement that you might need to get a job elsewhere as meaning you might leave the family as well.

“I'm sorry that I did; it was an incorrect conclusion and I was wrong to make it. I've done a lot of thinking and I've been forced to realize the company and the family are two entirely separate things, and all of us are free to work where we want and still be well-loved family members. If you decide to work elsewhere, you have my support, though I hope you will stay. If you choose to go, though, I will do whatever you need to help you get to a better situation. And, you will always be my brother, no matter what. Nothing you could do would change that. Again, I apologize.”

Azriel thanked him and launched into his own apology. “I've had to do a lot of hard thinking the past few days, as well. I've handled a lot of this badly, Rhys, and it wasn't fair to you. I should have told you in October how I felt about the split, but I genuinely thought I could decide which division to lead in spite of how I felt, so I didn't say anything. I just couldn't make a decision, though, even though time and deadlines for a decision were passing. I'm sorry for not being honest with everyone in the first place. It would have helped everyone, but especially you and me.

“But the thing I'm sorriest for is calling you names that you did not deserve in the slightest. You've always been incredibly supportive and fair with me. I don't actually feel that what I said to you is true and I apologize for letting anger take over and saying them. I want you to know that I love all of you and would never attempt to leave the family. You people are the best family I've ever been around. I'm really sorry for all of it, Rhys.”

With that, the tension in the room dissipated like a cloud of steam, and both males picked up their coffee cups and leaned back in their chairs.

“Just for the record, then,” Rhys asked, “you still don't want either of the lead positions?”

“No, I just don't,” said Azriel, “But thank you for offering the opportunity to me.”

“You're very welcome—you earned the offer. With that formality out of the way,” Rhys began, “please hear me out and think seriously about what I'm about to propose, and don't give me an answer until you've considered all sides of it. I'll be honest with you and tell you that I went to Adriata on Wednesday to discuss some business issues with Feyre, among them our meeting. I've found that she has a remarkable business acumen as well as the ability to solve problems creatively. She heard me out, then offered this proposal,” and then Rhys handed Az some sheets of paper which contained the entire proposal, including job titles, salaries, scheduling between divisions,and responsibilities.

“She just came up with this on the spot?,” Az asked, shaking his head as though he couldn't quite believe it.

“Everything but the salary numbers is as she presented it to me verbally. She had no way to know the salary information, though I will tell you, as you may know, you would be placed at the top of the scale for the job title in each division because you have the training and experience to be there. She did, however, say that you deserved top tier money for the job titles. I just supplied the numbers. I realize that it is still a large cut in pay, due to the fact that you would no longer be upper management.

“Do you have any questions after a quick read?,” Rhys asked.

“I'm kind of in a daze right now, Rhys. This is a lot to take in. Can I think about it over the weekend and maybe we can talk early next week?”

“Yes, certainly. You have your current position as lead of IT until we are able to promote someone into the position or hire a replacement. At that point we'd need to have a decision on whether or not you want to accept the job proposal. I'm looking to post all the offers for development and lead IT in the company job bank within a couple of days, then to some job sites on the internet a few days after that. I hope to have the major positions in the software division, as well as a lead IT, hired and working in their roles by the first of February, so plan on maybe early to mid-January at the latest for a new person to be on site for training. I hope you would be able to train the new one, but do let me know if that won't be possible.”

With that, Azriel finished his coffee and picked up his papers, thanking Rhys for the meeting. Rhys thanked him and showed him out. Both males were much relieved that at least the family issue was settled, though the job issue was still up in the air. Rhys had said what he wanted to regarding that, though, so he was able to adopt a more realistic, if fatalistic, attitude toward the matter. He would certainly help Azriel with whatever he needed when he decided what to do, and that was the important part of the job issue for him.

Rhys returned to his desk and finished the day uneventfully. He'd briefed Amren and Mor, so they were current on the situation. Both shared his attitude on how it worked out and how it looked to develop in the future.

Following a quick dinner, he called Feyre to fill her in, telling her that he was honest with Azriel and told him the job proposal was hers.

“Did he seem bothered by me knowing of the first meeting?,” Feyre asked.

“I would have said no, but then it's become obvious through this episode that I can't read him well, so I'm going with 'I don't know,' but I thought I owed him honesty,” Rhys answered.

“Okay,” said Feyre. “It'll be fine, love. I hope that he will accept the proposal, at least as a short term option, while he looks for the perfect management position, but if he doesn't, Rhys, please know that you've done all you can for him if you help him as needed. He'll always be your brother.”

“However it works out, Feyre, please know how grateful we all are to you for your help, and how grateful I am because you choose to be with me. I haven't made it easy for you this week, I'm afraid.”

“Rhys, I didn't do anything you wouldn't do for me and you know it. I love you and I want you to be as happy as possible. It hurts me when you are hurt, so we fixed it. Simple as that. You need to understand, though, that by giving yourself time and distance from that first meeting, by coming here, you allowed yourself the space to better evaluate both it and what needed to happen going forward in order to preserve the family. When you first talked with me about it, you had begun to see what went wrong and why on your own. I may have helped in small ways, and I'll take credit for the proposal, though surely one of you would have thought of it, but don't downplay your own role in helping yourself solve this. Thanks for the update, though. I had hoped that the meeting would go well and it did, whether or not the job proposal is accepted.”

They made small talk for a short time, then ended the call, promising to be in touch the next day.


End file.
